Friday, December 3, 2010

The Fishmen of Frankfort

Of course know one knew how the Deep Ones were able to make it as far inland as rural Kentucky. It was equally mysterious as to how they seemed to thrive as well, until the day a cult telegram was intercepted by Threshold agents. It was the Cult of the Black Goat, and they had brought an entire clutch of Deep Ones from the coast and were housing them in a secluded farm. The amphibious Deep Ones stayed hidden in an immense cavern and were sustained by its large underground lake. The farm itself was a Black Goat front.

Threshold agents' cars parked alongside at the farmhouse and two separate teams fanned out to search the complex. The house was innocent-looking enough on the outside, but on the inside it housed an entire cell of Black Goat cultists. An altar was found in the basement as well as a tunnel that was dug connecting it to the nearby barn. A large cache of firearms was found as well as a printing press. All of the bedrooms were filled with bunk-beds and footlockers, enough to house many more than its original intended occupancy.

This large barn was photographed by recon biplane, but the real secret was within. This barn housed the entrance to the underground cavern and lake. Its floor all but gone and two large, descending staircases of smooth, black stone wound down into the darkness below. Torches were set into the walls, but they had long since burned out.

Tucked away in a secluded part of the farm was this old cabin and much smaller barn. The grisly scene within is too graphic to report on, suffice it to say inhuman depravities were readily evident. The remains of what could only be guessed as the farm's former occupants were within as well. The smaller barn had an underground tunnel in it as well that, like the main house, connected with the large barn. There was only one item found within this smaller barn, yet it was the most fascinating. A large, tractor sized device on wheels resided within. Its nature is guessed to be scientific and it seems it is some type of device used to measure the stars themselves. Several large glass containers were also fitted to the device, but their purpose at this time is unknown. Worn tracks on the ground show where the device had been wheeled out of the barn on a regular basis and seem to stop in an open clearing of land.

Contact was made between the Threshold agents and cult forces. The human cultists had their ranks bolstered by the Deep Ones, whose strength and ferocity were superhuman. Fortunately the strongest armed of the Threshold teams was near the main house, so they were closest to the enemy emerging from the large barn. Small arms gunfire echoed off the hills and the two forces closed in on one another.

The other Threshold team heard the shots and came rushing from the corner of the farm they were searching near the grisly cabin. Unfortunately they rushed right into an ambush with the second contingency of cultists and Deep Ones. Unlike the firefight elsewhere, the confines of the woods meant this particular engagement would be up close and personal. This is where the natural dominance of the hybrids won out, cutting down the Threshold agents to a man. The remaining Lurkers went to reinforce their allies by the large barn.

In the end it was the resolve, the courage, and the Thompson Submachine gun of a lone Threshold agent who not only survived, but dealt a deadly blow to the Lurkers that remained topside. So effective was this final act that the remaining Lurkers in the large barn assumed more Threshold had arrived on the scene and they escaped through the underground caverns.

And ACG, coming from you that's quite a compliment! I wish I could take credit for the name 'Threshold', but they're part of rules!

As I segue into Joe's comment! The rules are Strange Aeons and I am very big fan. They're basically skirmish level Lovecraft mythos rules, and have a lot to offer, especially in the campaign department. I've got a few SA posts to peruse: